Investors Share Their Biggest 2022 Regrets, 2023 Goals

Three-quarters of investors in a new survey said they regret how they invested in 2022, and 85% plan to change how they do so this year, SoFi, a digital personal finance company, reported this week.

SoFi administered the survey to 1,000 adult investors in the U.S. on Oct. 5. The sample did not include known SoFi members or a SoFi member data set, according to the company.

Reflecting on Investing in 2022

In 2022, investors endured wild market volatility, rising interest rates and a crypto winter. Notwithstanding that rough ride, 93% of respondents reported that they continued to invest.

However, many investors regretted some of their choices over the last year:

• Not buying more cryptocurrency at lower prices: 18%
• Not buying more stock when the market started to decline: 16%
• Not selling stock before the market started to decline: 15%

White-hot inflation was a huge challenge to the economy in 2022, but respondents were divided on how that affected their investment strategies over the last year despite the toll it took on people’s finances.

Thirty-nine percent said that despite inflation, they wanted to invest more, with Generation Z investors making up the biggest group within this segment. Thirty-three percent reported that inflation made them want to leave their investments alone, and 28% said skyrocketing prices made them want to invest less.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents acknowledged that they made impulsive investment decisions in 2022 because of market volatility, including 31% of Gen Z, who admitted to acting rashly.

The survey found that because of stock market volatility, 90% of participants invested in non-stock-market-related investments last year. Crypto was by far the most common investment, reported by 48% of investors.

Between a quarter and a fifth of respondents also invested in CDs, private equity funds, REITs, gold or other commodities, and government bonds.

According to the survey, men were likelier than women to invest in 2022, and to invest more money when they did. Of the respondents who said they did not invest, 56% were women. SoFi said this shows that there is still more opportunity for women to jump into the market.

The survey found that recent economic conditions have caused many participants to stress over their investments. To cope with the stress and take their minds off their investments, 41% said they engaged in hobbies.

Thirty-seven percent reported that they did their own investment research, and 31% simply stopped checking their balances, embracing an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality to stay the course on their investments. Twenty-two percent said they talked with their brokers for reassurance, and 17% participated in online forums.

On a positive note, 14% of respondents said the markets did not stress them out.

Planning for 2023

Given the ups and downs of 2022, a majority of investors in the survey reported that they want to make changes in 2023:

• 21% plan to increase investments
• 19% plan to conduct more research
• 14% want to work with a financial advisor
• 10% want to buy into a new type of investment
• 9% plan to change asset allocations in their portfolios

Fifteen percent of respondents said they do not plan to change anything.

The findings showed that respondents continue to be optimistic. Of the 45% of investors who have cryptocurrency in their portfolios, 78% said they are cautiously optimistic that the crypto market will bounce back in the future. Only 5% consider the market dead.

(Image: Adobe)